Worcester Art Museum | Page 4 of 17

Samurai! on display at Worcester Art Museum with guest curator Eric Nakamura, editor and founder of Giant Robot Magazine.

From April 18 through September 6, 2015, the Worcester Art Museum will feature a diverse array of artistic interpretations of samurai in contemporary culture. Samurai! draws inspiration from the recently-acquired Japanese arms and armor in the John Woodman Higgins Collection to examine contemporary perceptions of this centuries-old tradition. Spanning a variety of media, from painting, and drawings, to paper sculpture and digital and woodblock prints, the exhibition spotlights recent works by Japanese and American artists and illustrators, among them Miya Ando, James Jean, kozyndan, Mu Pan, Ferris Plock, Masakatsu Sashie, Rob Sato, Yuko Shimizu, and Kent Williams. Their works will be interspersed with finely crafted samurai objects from the 1500s–1800s as a historic counterpoint to the fantastical depictions of samurai found throughout the galleries.

From May 4 through May 9, 2015, visitors will also have the opportunity to witness the installation of site-specific murals being created for the exhibition by artists Andrew Hem, Audrey Kawasaki, and Mari Inukai. These large-scale paintings will also draw on themes and symbols related to samurai and will extend the exhibition into other areas of the Museum.

As we continue to integrate the Higgins collection into our own, we are creating transformative spaces within the Museum that immerse visitors in ideas emanating from a distant time period but continue to feed the imaginations of today’s most creative minds,” said WAM Director Matthias Waschek. “With the opening of Samurai!, the Museum encourages viewers to draw connections between fine art and popular culture, while sparking a dialogue on how western perceptions of eastern customs are manifested through these mediums.

Highlights from the exhibition include:

The Loyal 47 Ronin (2011) by Mu Pan is characteristic of the artist’s blending of historical and popular culture. In this work, Pan renders the legendary band of rōnin (a samurai with no lord or master) defeating Godzilla in his own contemporary illustrative painting style that references the Ukiyo-e Japanese tradition.
Recent work by San-Francisco-based artist Ferris Plock draws on the artist’s childhood experience growing-up a block from a Buddhist temple. Often using golden backgrounds, Plock painstakingly creates intricate patterns in the attire (from yukata to samurai armor) of his subjects which are often animals or ball-cap sporting traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e faces.
Mother and Daughter (2009) by Kent Williams showcases the artist’s expressionist approach to painting in his depiction of a mother and daughter wearing traditional samurai armor, a contemporary departure from the traditional approach of showcasing men as samurai.

As a complement to the contemporary works on view, Samurai! reveals the craftsmanship and highly skilled metalwork applied to the creation of historic Japanese arms and armor. From a complex armor suit from Japan’s Edo period crafted from thousands of strips of lacquered leather assembled with colorful silk laces, to a 19th-century sword-guard adorned with a lonely deer bellowing at the autumn moon, the objects on view are embedded with a rich variety of embellishments that express Japanese values and are representative of the owner’s persona.

This historic material speaks to the evolution of samurai during the Tokugawa era from military warriors to bureaucrats, administrators, and other government officials. Lasting from 1603 to 1868, this period of peace in Japan diminished samurai’s military function and transformed their swords into symbols of power rather than weapons intended to inflict harm. The Tokugawa era also brought about a shift from creating tools of warfare towards decorative objects for samurai. Examples of these works will be on view in the exhibition, including a fully-articulated lobster and dragon (1850–1900), which have been fully conserved by the Museum to reveal the objects’ finely crafted metalwork.

Samurai! has been a highly collaborative process with the Museum’s curatorial, education, and conservation departments,” said guest curator Eric Nakamura, founder of the Los Angeles-based Giant Robot Store and GR2 Gallery. “I am used to working with contemporary artists and illustrators, but looking at historical materials through a contemporary lens has produced truly unique work. A number of surprising parallels can be made—both time periods have flourishing art production, including work in traditional media but also unexpected places, from armor of the past to the streets of the present. As someone at the intersection of Asian and Asian American popular culture, it’s rewarding to introduce visitors to Japanese customs and contemporary art simultaneously.

A special installation in Helmutt’s House will invite family participation and introduce visitors to the world of Usagi Yojimbo, Stan Sakai’s renowned comic book series featuring a rabbit rōnin. Taking place at the beginning of the Edo period, Usagi Yojimbo is largely influenced by Japanese history, folklore, and cinema, including the work of Akira Kurosawa, another figure greatly influenced by the samurai legacy.

In the lead-up to the opening of Samurai!, WAM will host a day-long celebration of Japanese culture on Sunday, March 22 from 11 am – 5 pm. WAM’s Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival invites visitors to enjoy music, games, art making, and performances, and to explore the Museum’s Japanese holdings and special exhibition Uncanny Japan: The Art of Yoshitoshi.

To launch Samurai!, the Museum will host an opening party on Friday, April 17 (7–8 pm for Members; 8–11 pm for the public), with Japanese taiko drummers setting the tone for an evening packed with performances, theatrics, and more. Tickets are $10 for Members, $20 for nonmembers.

On Sunday, May 17 from 11 am to 5 pm, the Museum will host a Star Wars Community Day. Star Wars fans of all ages are invited to dress as their favorite Star Wars character and join Jedi Knights and Imperial Stormtroopers at WAM for a day of “Force-full” fun! The event is free with Museum admission.

Additionally, Festival of Lanterns, the Museum’s Corporators Ball, will be held on Saturday, June 13, a new annual black-tie gala inspired by Samurai, featuring a Japanese-themed menu, silent and live auctions, and dancing.

The 2014 Dinner Tent at the Auction at Worcester Art Museum

Order Tickets Today »

If you had looked at Worcester’s restaurant scene ten years ago, you would say that it “had potential.” Worcester has always had staple restaurants; notably, places like the El Morocco of yesteryear and restaurants, like 111 Chop House, that have stood the test of time. But, when Block 5 Bistro combined a contemporary atmosphere, an evolved twist to traditional American comfort food and an aggressive marketing plan, they can be credited with having jumpstarted Worcester’s vibrant foodie haven. Ten short years later, we see the cultural ecosystem facing a similar situation and, like how Block 5 swung the pendulum for food, the Worcester Art Museum is ringing the gong for art.

An engaged audience at the Samurai! opening in April 2015. — An engaged audience at the Samurai! opening in April. (Photo by Erb Photography)

The Worcester Art Museum has a rich history in America: once being the third largest museum in the nation while also laying claim as the first Museum in the country to own multiple Monets. Its encyclopedic collection doesn’t just recognize art of the past, but it forges the future by taking an interest—and risk—by embracing contemporary art. All art is contemporary at one time and by that right the museum’s investment in photography, Asian prints, and folk art, allowed it to “get in the game” without the financial competition of larger museums.

In addition to their art collection, the Worcester Art Museum takes great pride in how it has become a part of the fabric of the city, working tirelessly with government, educational organizations and other cultural groups to ensure that art and culture will be as strong in Worcester as the food industry is. This became more apparent with the Worcester City Council’s recent endorsement of a plan to create the Salisbury Cultural District with the museum as one of its anchors and when Hollywood called on the Worcester Art Museum for on-site filming in two recent movies, The Maiden Heist with Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, and William H. Macy and the Academy Award nominated American Hustle staring Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence.

As an organization, however, the Worcester Art Museum has made it a strategic goal to have the museum be more accessible to visitors from around the world. This includes making milestones, like exhibit openings, less formal and stuffy and more fun. “The true nature of a museum isn’t its art, it’s how one experiences it,” Adam Rozan, Director of Audience Engagement said. “By creating a culture, an event, around a single piece of art, one is able to not only gain an understanding and appreciation for it, but it makes it more personal and more fun.”

Worcester Art Museum members discussing art at the Samurai! opening in April. (Photo by Erb Photography)

This mindset is applied to events that, for generations, have always been perceived as stuffy and dry, including reshaping the museum’s top fundraiser, the auction, by turning it upside down as the Corporators Ball on June 13th.

The black tie event, named Festival of Lanterns (corresponding with the Samurai! exhibition) blends art, fashion, food, and fun with its philanthropic auction. Coming off of their 2014 Gala that corresponded with the Higgins Collection integration, the 2015 Gala rethinks how traditional auctions have traditionally worked. The sit-down dinner promises to serve a classic, yet decadent meal while the auction focuses not just on the tangible, but on the experience. “We are focused on creating experiences that money cannot buy… at least not on any other night,” says Nancy Jeppson, the Gala’s coordinator. “With auction items like our Director, Matthias Waschek, personally leading a trip to Europe’s premier fine art fair, or having the rarest of rare opportunities to dine with friends in one of the Museum’s galleries, each carefully curated auction item grants access to the art world in ways seldom offered.”

Anyone who has attended an exhibit opening in recent years knows that the museum has brought audience engagement to the forefront of their planning. In true WAM-fashion, once the auction and dinner are concluded a live band, headlined by the Boston Music Award’s Best Ongoing Residency, Tim Gearan, will transform the Renaissance Court into a rockin’ dance party while the other galleries in the museum will feature calming, classical favorites. Cupcakes provided by Sweet Kitchen & Bar will also be served during this after party event.

As Worcester has gone through careful growth in the food and beverage realm, the acceptance has opened the doors for other organizations to take risks in the hopes of introducing new experiences that add to the fabric of the city. With events like the Worcester Art Museum’s Corporators Ball corresponding with the city’s commitment to culture, we know that the city of Worcester sits at the cusp of exciting things about to happen.

The Renaissance Court will be transformed into a social setting for after dinner with live band and bar. (Photo by Erb Photography)

Order Tickets Today »

Tag: Worcester Art Museum

Contemporary Artists Explore Samurai in Popular Culture

Rethinking the Gala and Leading Worcester’s Cultural Charge

Mass Food & Wine Events